David Brazier at La Ville au Roi (Eleusis)2018-11-20T00:35:44ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglishhttp://api.ning.com:80/files/sktxyH0RrB2yplYaQRcztlc45vZDsK6TU6MOyh9uhwWcodg6V-PMPkKX85iaWVnyYdjLRg9dC4lsucReWFjg6TLb5*NOlO3o/1171351303.jpeg?xgip=5%3A1%3A823%3A823%3B%3B&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://eleusis.ning.com/group/books/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=3jzq54b3ci4pa&feed=yes&xn_auth=noA LITTLE HISTORY OF ECONOMICStag:eleusis.ning.com,2018-06-29:6588671:Topic:371442018-06-29T12:00:13.518ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>I have just completed reading</p>
<p>Nialle Kishtainy 2017. A Little History of Economics. Yale University Press 249 pages.</p>
<p>which is an excellent tour through the many schools and theories that have emerged in economics over the last few centuries. It is a well balanced book including left and right, pro- and anti-capitalist perspectives. One gets a sense of the complexity of the subject without being put off. Rather it is like a series of puzzles, each theory trying to work out why…</p>
<p>I have just completed reading</p>
<p>Nialle Kishtainy 2017. A Little History of Economics. Yale University Press 249 pages.</p>
<p>which is an excellent tour through the many schools and theories that have emerged in economics over the last few centuries. It is a well balanced book including left and right, pro- and anti-capitalist perspectives. One gets a sense of the complexity of the subject without being put off. Rather it is like a series of puzzles, each theory trying to work out why the previous one, that seemed so plausible at the time, did not quite work out as expected. This, of course, often comes down to the fact that while humans do act rationally in some respects, they are also tricky customers who always try to double guess the system, whatever the system happens to be at the time. I enjoyed it a lot and recommend it to anybody who want to try to understand what is going on in the material world, but also as an interesting way of looking at human motives, aspirations and foibles.</p> Le Miracle Spinozatag:eleusis.ning.com,2018-02-06:6588671:Topic:350992018-02-06T19:23:27.763ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>Item from <a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/profile/TamulyJung" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Annette Tamuly</a></p>
<p>Frédéric Lenoir, Le Miracle Spinoza (Fayard, novembre 2017)</p>
<p>Outre l’extraordinaire modernité de Spinoza (1632-1677), ce qui frappe avant tout c’est que cet homme, que Lenoir qualifie de « meurtri » (une santé fragile, des deuils nombreux dont la perte de sa mère à 6 ans, un amour malheureux et surtout le bannissement de sa communauté) cet homme a pourtant fondé toute…</p>
<p>Item from <a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/profile/TamulyJung" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Annette Tamuly</a></p>
<p>Frédéric Lenoir, Le Miracle Spinoza (Fayard, novembre 2017)</p>
<p>Outre l’extraordinaire modernité de Spinoza (1632-1677), ce qui frappe avant tout c’est que cet homme, que Lenoir qualifie de « meurtri » (une santé fragile, des deuils nombreux dont la perte de sa mère à 6 ans, un amour malheureux et surtout le bannissement de sa communauté) cet homme a pourtant fondé toute sa philosophie sur la joie et même la béatitude.</p>
<p>Ce que j’admire aussi chez Spinoza, c’est l’extraordinaire cohérence entre sa philosophie et son mode de vie.</p>
<p>Il nous propose une vision totalement nouvelle et de Dieu et de la religion. Dieu n’est pas le Dieu révélé du judaïsme ou de la chrétienté, un Dieu créateur. Nous connaissons tous la fameuse formule « Deus sive Natura ». Dieu, pour Spinoza, est la Nature, c’est-à-dire le Cosmos ou l’Absolu. Au-delà de tout anthropomorphisme, Dieu est la substance éternelle qui se manifeste en tout. Il est Etendue (matière) tout autant qu’Esprit. Il n’y a donc pas de dualisme corps/esprit (monisme). L’homme est une partie intégrante de ce Tout et constitue, lui aussi une entité corps/esprit. Nous pensons donc aussi à partir de notre corporéité, c’est-à-dire, de notre corps, mais aussi de nos sentiments et nos affects.</p>
<p>Tout obéissant à la loi de causalité, il est possible de connaître le réel aussi bien que l’homme grâce à la raison. C’est l’ignorance qui est à l’origine de tous les maux, car elle nous pousse à juger et à mal agir. Il faut donc : « Ne pas se moquer, ne pas se lamenter, ne pas détester, mais comprendre » (B.Spinoza)</p>
<p>La religion fondée sur la superstition et la crainte et sur un ensemble de commandements peut assurer l’ordre de la masse, mais elle asservit l’homme. Il s’agit bien plutôt de suivre la loi divine qui est en nous, car « Tout est en Dieu et Dieu est tout. » Quand notre nature s’accorde à la Nature, grâce à la raison, nous atteignons la joie parfaite.</p>
<p>Spinoza distingue en effet la joie et la tristesse. Chaque chose s’efforce de persévérer dans son être et à grandir vers plus de perfection. Cet effort est appelé conatus. Il se confond en fait avec le désir, un élan vital qui est le vrai moteur de notre vie. La sagesse consiste à se tourner vers ce qui augmente vraiment notre vitalité corporelle et spirituelle, ce qui nous détourne naturellement de toutes les passions « tristes » qui la diminuent. L’éthique spinoziste est donc fort éloignée d’une morale répressive.</p>
<p>Voici le résumé extrêmement clair que nous propose Lenoir : « Toute l’éthique de Spinoza commence donc par la connaissance rationnelle de Dieu et s’achève par un amour de Dieu, lequel se dévoile d’une part par la connaissance de soi, d’autre part par l’intuition de ce rapport entre notre cosmos intérieur et le cosmos entier. Plus nous nous connaissons, plus nous mettons de l’ordre dans nos affects ; plus nous augmentons en puissance et en joie, et plus nous participons à la nature divine et expérimentons cet amour de Dieu.</p>
<p>La béatitude, ou joie parfaite, est donc le fruit d’une connaissance à la fois rationnelle et intuitive qui s’épanouit dans un amour. Non pas un amour entendu dans le sens d’une passion : en ce sens « Dieu n’aime et ne hait personne » (Ethique V, 17, corollaire) Cet amour intellectuel de l’esprit envers Dieu s’épanouit d’autant plus que nous participons à la nature divine. Dès lors, il n’y a plus aucune différence entre l’amour que nous avons pour Dieu, l’amour que Dieu a pour les hommes ou l’amour que Dieu a pour lui. Spinoza admet aussi qu’en ce sens, nous sommes éternels et que cette puissance d’être et de joie survivra à la destruction du corps. » (Lenoir. P. 195)</p>
<p>« La Béatitude n’est pas la récompense de la vertu, mais la vertu elle-même : et nous n’en éprouvons pas de la joie parce que nous réprimons nos penchants, au contraire, c’est parce que nous en éprouvons de la joie que nous pouvons réprimer nos penchants. » (Ethique IV 42)</p>
<p>Spinoza « une philosophie pour éclairer notre vie » ? Pour ma part, j’ai trouvé la lecture de ce livre particulièrement stimulante et je suis reconnaissante à Lenoir de m’avoir rendu accessible une pensée dense et riche. En lisant et en relisant ce livre, j’ai l’impression de sentir mon propre conatus à l’œuvre vers une joie véritable. Nul doute que cette joie pourrait encore s’accroître si je faisais l’effort d’examiner en quoi elle rejoint la conception bouddhiste qui éclaire ma vie !</p> GRITtag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-12-19:6588671:Topic:345542017-12-19T22:14:59.105ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>Coming towards the end of "GRIT: why passion and resilience are the secrets to success" by Angela Duckworth. I love that we now have research and populist books in Positive Psychology and I have enjoyed Marty Seligman's books. Psychology research into what it is to be a human living a fulfilling life is a turnaround from the past!? Enjoying "GRIT"....as a Career Coach working with teenagers this is massively useful! Last week I saw 14 year olds who have already picked "destinations" in…</p>
<p>Coming towards the end of "GRIT: why passion and resilience are the secrets to success" by Angela Duckworth. I love that we now have research and populist books in Positive Psychology and I have enjoyed Marty Seligman's books. Psychology research into what it is to be a human living a fulfilling life is a turnaround from the past!? Enjoying "GRIT"....as a Career Coach working with teenagers this is massively useful! Last week I saw 14 year olds who have already picked "destinations" in the most academically competitive disciplines - Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Theoretical Physics....they'll need GRIT to achieve their goals. I did talk with them about having extra-curricular interests/involvements - rather than being academically tunnel-visioned - and Duckworth's research affirms that practice in such activities is an expression of and developmental of GRIT. Anyway this isn't a review but I'd recommend it. When it comes to spirituality however...self-power and GRIT is only okay for a few...NAB:)</p> OF HUMAN BONDAGEtag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-08-02:6588671:Topic:314222017-08-02T08:39:51.880ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: times new roman,times;">I have just completed reading <em>Of Human Bondage, volume I,</em> by Somerset Maugham. It was published in 1915 and is the story - probably substantially autobiographical - of a young man growing up and having great difficulty finding direction in life. I thought it extremely accurate in portraying the excruciating embarrassment of so many situations which were probably even more so in that era…</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-3">I have just completed reading <em>Of Human Bondage, volume I,</em> by Somerset Maugham. It was published in 1915 and is the story - probably substantially autobiographical - of a young man growing up and having great difficulty finding direction in life. I thought it extremely accurate in portraying the excruciating embarrassment of so many situations which were probably even more so in that era than today, since etiquette was more exacting in those days. The hero of the book has to contend with some distinct misfortunes that I personally was spared - a small physical handicap, early death of parents, being sent to boarding school - but I could recognise much of the material as, in one way or another, inevitable concomitants of childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. The human encounters are very well described with all their inner dilemmas that cannot be voiced. It also bring out well the manner in which feelings can abruptly change: one desperately wants something, eventually gets it and then feels that it is not what one wanted; one feels well disposed toward somebody, then feels slighted by them, rejects them, but they do not notice, feels repentant the next day, and so on. It also shows how attractions between people frequently do not have any necessary connection with compatibility nor with one's concept of what one needs or wants. There are a number of interesting discussions of life philosophy here and there, including comments on the nature of art which are worth reflecting upon, as well as portrayal of the effects of class and other social divisions. None of the characters in the book emerges as an exemplar or paragon of virtues - they are all immensely human. Some are tragic, but one feels that their tragedy is only the normal condition carried to an excess. It brings out how we tend to live by rules that do not serve and ideas that often fail to meet the case, as “<font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="3">Phillip looked at his own work. How could you tell whether there was anything in it or whether you were wasting your time? It was clear that the will to achieve could not help you and confidence in yourself meant nothing.” Life is a puzzle with no perfect solution, but a hundred styles of playing the game.<br/></font></font></span></p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-3"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="3">In some ways the book gives perspective upon a social world of a hundred years ago that has passed away, but the human material in it is perennial and, in some ways, stands out more clearly in the more mannered society of those days. Maugham has been rather out of fashion for a while, but I think this book is something of a "classic" that will survive the vicissitudes of fashion.</font></font></span></p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p> POWER, WEALTH & WOMEN ~ Gandavyuhatag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-06-04:6588671:Topic:291872017-06-04T06:20:21.420ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>I am reading <a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/profile/DougOsto" target="_blank">Doug Osto’s</a> book <em>Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahayana Buddhism:</em> <br></br><em>The Gandavyuha-sutra</em> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Wealth-Indian-Mahayana-Buddhism/dp/0415480736" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br></br><br></br>It is thorough, academic and requires concentration. but is very well written. I am finding it an absolute delight. I can imagine that Doug must be a superb teacher - lucky the…</p>
<p>I am reading <a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/profile/DougOsto" target="_blank">Doug Osto’s</a> book <em>Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahayana Buddhism:</em> <br/><em>The Gandavyuha-sutra</em> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Wealth-Indian-Mahayana-Buddhism/dp/0415480736" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br/><br/>It is thorough, academic and requires concentration. but is very well written. I am finding it an absolute delight. I can imagine that Doug must be a superb teacher - lucky the students that populate his classes. Furthermore, one can feel his love of the text coming through. I am sure that putting together this work, while requiring a vast amount of research, study and reflection, was no chore even though it must have been a lot of work.<br/><br/>Many academic books are turgid. This one is exemplary in its clarity which is what makes it a pleasure to read. There are plenty of long complicated words, but all is explained, and in a manner that the intelligent general reader can handle. This is a gift.<br/><br/>The subject matter is the Gandhavyuha Sutra which tells the story of the pilgrim Sudhana who is sent by Manjushri to visit and learn from a series of spiritual friends (kalyanamtras) who are all in some sense emanations of Vairochana, the highest Buddha. In this story Vairochana is the “other power” and Sudhana is the “foolish being”, yet one who emerges as very spiritually advanced. This story became of immense importance in medieval Mahayana Buddhism as it displays in narrative form the whole devotional world view.<br/><br/>Osto’s treatment of the subject is not a straightforward commentary. He wants to position the narrative in terms of the society in which it came into being - India in the early centuries of the common era. In particular he clarifies the worldview of the sutra and shows what we can know from an analysis of its narrative structure and then draws out three particular dimensions - power, wealth and women - for special attention teasing out the connections between the content of the sutra and the society it was written in. As he says, “Power, wealth and gender are perennial concerns of every society.”</p> Hallelujah Anyway by Ann Lamotttag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-05-02:6588671:Topic:288222017-05-02T22:26:59.796ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>This little book explores mercy in humorous and insightful ways. Lamott shares her stories as illustrative of our bombu natures with honesty and humor. What I found particularly interesting is that she is Christian, but has what I consider a Buddhist take on things. Perhaps a venue for inter-faith understanding?</p>
<p>This little book explores mercy in humorous and insightful ways. Lamott shares her stories as illustrative of our bombu natures with honesty and humor. What I found particularly interesting is that she is Christian, but has what I consider a Buddhist take on things. Perhaps a venue for inter-faith understanding?</p> THE ASIATICS ~ Frederick Prokoschtag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-05-01:6588671:Topic:288102017-05-01T07:50:24.386ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>Last night I read a chunk of the novel The Asiatics, by Frederick Prokosch. I say "a chunk", because my copy is missing the first fifty pages or so, so I was plunged into the middle of the action, at which point out hero was already locked up in a Turkish jail.</p>
<p>The Amazon description of the book says:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"André Gide praised <i>The Asiatics</i> as "an authentic masterpiece"; Thomas Mann called it "brilliant." First published in 1935 and virtually…</p>
<p>Last night I read a chunk of the novel The Asiatics, by Frederick Prokosch. I say "a chunk", because my copy is missing the first fifty pages or so, so I was plunged into the middle of the action, at which point out hero was already locked up in a Turkish jail.</p>
<p>The Amazon description of the book says:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"André Gide praised <i>The Asiatics</i> as "an authentic masterpiece"; Thomas Mann called it "brilliant." First published in 1935 and virtually unavailable for years, this extraordinary novel tells the story of a young American--the unnamed narrator--who hitchhikes his way across Asia, from Beirut to China, living off the land and depending on the hospitality of the people he meets along the road. As Pico Iyer writes in the introduction, "[Prokosch] catches the peculiar logic that makes travel a land of alternative reality, a foreign state in itself that is an intoxication.""</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The book portrays a naive but spirited American travelling rough through southern Asia. He meets with numerous adventures, in several of which he would, in most normal cases, have ended up dead. One thing that the book does illustrate is how a person of optimistic or naive disposition can easily leave himself open to danger that a more suspicious or pessimistic person would have easily avoided. This, perhaps, helps to account for the survival of pessimism and cynicism as such common traits: they have survival value. For instance, there is a sequence in which he trusts somebody who is clearly trying to exploit him (mistake number one), puts himself effectively in this person's care (mistake number two) and when they are in an isolated place the scoundrel tries to kill him (surprise!) but he manages to thwart this attack. However, he than forgives the assailant (mistake number three) and allows the fellow to persuade him not to part company (four) so they go to an even wilder place and the villain gets his mates this time, a gang of brigands, who come and take the man captive (I ask you!). However, while he is waiting to be tortured, one of the brigands takes pity on him and, in a very unlikely scenario, helps him escape. Well, the gods were certainly smiling on him, but he was rather asking for it. Even if one does have guardian angels, one should not make them have to work so hard. Well, it is a novel!</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It is a novel, but it carries a good deal of philosophical rumination too. In fact, there is a dearth of small talk. The characters are all either silent types (strong and silent, morose and silent, inscutable and silent, sad and silent,.....) or they start conversations with complete strangers with lead lines like, "What do you think of death?" or "What is the meaning of happiness?" etc. If it were a real diary then I suppose one would say that they were the only bits worth recording or remembering.</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Anyway, it is quite a good read.</p> THE HEALING POWER OF MINDtag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-03-07:6588671:Topic:275872017-03-07T10:19:36.125ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>Review by <a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/profile/AttilaMislai" target="_blank">Attila Mislai</a></p>
<p>Tulku Thondup Rinpocse' book of The Healing Power of Mind) seems to be so consonant with Zen Therapy as if the authors would have joined with each other in checking their works line by line. David has wrote about the possibility of healing with a profound explanation as to its lucid Buddhist theoretical background and the Rinpocse has made out its practical pandant with meticulous care.…</p>
<p>Review by <a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/profile/AttilaMislai" target="_blank">Attila Mislai</a></p>
<p>Tulku Thondup Rinpocse' book of The Healing Power of Mind) seems to be so consonant with Zen Therapy as if the authors would have joined with each other in checking their works line by line. David has wrote about the possibility of healing with a profound explanation as to its lucid Buddhist theoretical background and the Rinpocse has made out its practical pandant with meticulous care. <br/> Tondrup Rinpocse comes from the Nyingmapa tradition whose central tenet is the Dzogchen teaching stating the essence of all beings is a pure awareness, clean, tranquil and joyous. All of its varied methods and means (symbols, rituals, visualizations, meditations) derive their significance from how skillfully they are able to facilitate the cultivation of that awakened awareness and foster its unhampered flowing through our everyday actions.</p>
<p><br/> There is a special kind of parlance the origin of which I believe is found in the true strength of realisations. Only those who managed to go beyond the limits of subjectivity, let go of the contents of their mind and sojourn in the peaceful provinces of that pristine awareness are able to speak this marvellous language which is evocative and down-to-earth, precise and highly imaginative at the same time. No doubt, Tondrup Rimpocse not only speak about pure qualities of consciousness, he is a real embodiment of them.</p>
<p><br/> The first part of the book is about the general outlook of the tradicional healing art the assumptions of which is so radically dissimilar to our western approach. Morris Berman writes on the latter: „From the sixteenth century on, mind has been progressively expunged from the phenomenal word….Subject and object are always seen in opposition to each other. I am not my experiences and thus not really a part of the world around me. The logical endpoint of this world view is a feeling of total reification: everything is an object, alien, not-me, and I am ultimately an object too, an alienated „thing” in a world of other, equally meaningless things” (Berman) The Buddhist thinking shows a striking contrast with this philosophy. The primal reality is consciousness, mind is the key to health and happiness, and the final cause of suffering can be comrehended as the result of a false, rigid dualism showing through our perceptions and thinking. We habitually tend to regard fleeting, conditioned phenomena as if possessing independent existence and from this erroneous view flow than innumerable false distinctions embodied in our blurred perceptions, emotional reactions, behavioural tendencies and mental confections (samskaras). In this school of thought healing is attainable through cultivating the (Big) mind (Buddhata), opening to it, immersing in its spacious, peaceful, luminous nature. Although seeing from this deeply holistic perspective, healing doesn’t differ fundamentally from liberation, the author professedly makes do with a modest aim: drawing on ancient practices he teaches simple, quotidian methods assisting anybody with everyday distresses whatever form the suffering it may don. <br/> Along with offering valuable pieces of advice how to create or summon up the right intentional stance that is indispensible for any healing effect to be come into being, he gives detailed instructions on how to pay attention to the breathing process, how to use our creative imagination to bring forth healing visualisations or how to benefit from the salutory effects of taking refuge in power beyond the ego. The smaller the supremacy of the ego the more we are open to healing influences – that can be the motto of the traditional approach. In other words, the real source of healing can be neared by learning to let go of the conditioned ego and to swim „in the bottomless ocean of Buddhata, where self doesn’t figure… there is one seamless purity in which all the ordinary things…..occur just as they are.” (David).</p> THE DIARIES OF SOPHIA TOLSTOYtag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-03-03:6588671:Topic:276102017-03-03T19:17:38.216ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>I am currently reading this work, translated by Cathy Porter, published in London by Alma Books. This paperback edition was published in 2010.</p>
<p>I am finding it more interesting than I expected. You can imagine the dynamics of the Tolstoy household. He is wonderfully creative both in fictional literature and in theology-philosophy-politics. He lives in a world of ideas. In the background, Russia is going through a tumultuous times with many assassination attempts against the Tsar and…</p>
<p>I am currently reading this work, translated by Cathy Porter, published in London by Alma Books. This paperback edition was published in 2010.</p>
<p>I am finding it more interesting than I expected. You can imagine the dynamics of the Tolstoy household. He is wonderfully creative both in fictional literature and in theology-philosophy-politics. He lives in a world of ideas. In the background, Russia is going through a tumultuous times with many assassination attempts against the Tsar and struggles for and against the social order. Meanwhile they have 13 children. The middle three die in infancy, so there is an older group and a younger group surviving. There is also an estate to run. Tolstoy had all kinds of ideas about holy poverty but was a rich man with many servants. All the practical matters fall to Sophia. She is madly in love with her husband but also despairing of him. His feelings for her fluctuate wildly. They have fierce arguments. Tolstoy becomes famous. Disciples arrive. Sophia finds most of them insufferable. I'm only on Part One. I'll keep you posted.</p>
<p>Related posts:</p>
<p><a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/group/war-peace/forum/topics/how-to-make-enemies-annoy-people?commentId=6588671%3AComment%3A27658&amp;xg_source=activity&amp;groupId=6588671%3AGroup%3A19583" target="_blank">Is being "right" a form of blindness?</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/group/men-women/forum/topics/imposing-values" target="_blank">Imposing values</a></p>
<p><a href="http://eleusis.ning.com/group/men-women/forum/topics/jealousy" target="_blank">Jealousy</a></p> THE SEA, THE SEAtag:eleusis.ning.com,2017-01-29:6588671:Topic:262372017-01-29T13:27:14.576ZCarol Englishhttp://eleusis.ning.com/profile/CarolEnglish
<p>Iris Murdoch, 1978. <em>The Sea, The Sea</em>. Panther. Fiction. 502 pages. Winner of the Booker Prize.</p>
<p><br></br> Last night I started reading The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdoch. This is the third or fourth of her novels that I have read - maybe the fifth. They are each excellent in their own way. This one concerns a man of retirement age who has had a successful career in the theatre who buys a distinctive yet rather primitive house in a remote spot with a view to enjoying some much and…</p>
<p>Iris Murdoch, 1978. <em>The Sea, The Sea</em>. Panther. Fiction. 502 pages. Winner of the Booker Prize.</p>
<p><br/> Last night I started reading The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdoch. This is the third or fourth of her novels that I have read - maybe the fifth. They are each excellent in their own way. This one concerns a man of retirement age who has had a successful career in the theatre who buys a distinctive yet rather primitive house in a remote spot with a view to enjoying some much and long earned solitude. Now, I can readily identify with this theme. The theatre background and style all also remind me of a friend of mine who used to be a theatre director. So much so, in fact, that as I read the book I seem to hear it being vocalised in his voice. Not that the character is the same in all respects,there are some distinct differences of personality, but I can imagine my friend playing this part.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/vwzIt05Fr12Fe4e*xrjWtbO0EgEliGxlX32XFuALviKy27zZ0A0MbXqx4u-Ay3Zk3jTFlzWy9cBvxaLCaDAM-tLYzoN2gRUB/2017012915.19.34.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/vwzIt05Fr12Fe4e*xrjWtbO0EgEliGxlX32XFuALviKy27zZ0A0MbXqx4u-Ay3Zk3jTFlzWy9cBvxaLCaDAM-tLYzoN2gRUB/2017012915.19.34.jpg?width=300" class="align-right" width="300"/></a>The cover of my copy has a picture of the surging coastal waves, but if you look at it a certain way there is just the suggestion of a face hovering amidst the waves.<br/> <br/> I’m only at the beginning of the book - page 40 - and will write more about it when I am further on. I have got to the point where he is frightened by the appearance of a “monster” rising from the sea. He ponders upon this experience and it connects in his mind with an LSD bad trip that he had had many years previously - the only time in his life he had taken a hallucinogenic drug - “I did it to please a woman,” he says.<br/> <br/> This put me in mind of my own single hallucinogenic experience with ayahuasca in Peru - also at the behest of friends - in which I did not have a “bad trip” but was violently sick. However, I remember that it did not become a bad trip because in the middle of the experience I became aware of an area that I somehow knew to be populated by evil of some kind and I had the presence of mind to spite the drug and decide not to go there. <br/> <br/> Also the same evening I was commenting on the work of some of my Spanish students who are looking at the connections between psychosis and everyday experience, taking the idea that madness is only an extreme of things we all experience - paranoia, grandiosity, wild imaginings about health, sex and so on.<br/> <br/> I went to sleep easily but woke at two a.m. with these three influences - the book, my experience and the stories of my students - all mingling in my mind. It took me some time to get back to sleep. I guess that there are dark areas in all our minds that we visit from time to time, sometimes indulge, sometimes keep at bay, sometimes forget about. Probably forgetting is the best option.<br/> <br/> Anyway, I shall continue with the book and see what other treasures - dark or inspiring - emerge. IM has such a wonderful grasp of human mentalities.</p>
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